Cyprus PIO: Turkish Press and Other Media, 02-11-19

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From: The Republic of Cyprus Press and Information Office Server at <http://www.pio.gov.cy/>

[A] NEWS ITEMS

[01] It is not clear when Denktas will be discharged from the hospital.

[02] Justice and Development Party's Bulent Arinc: "We will solve the Cyprus problem".

[03] Foreign "students" studying in the occupied areas will be used to inform their governments about the pseudostate.

[04] Revolutionary Trade Union (DEV-IS): Now or never for a solution of the Cyprus problem.

[05] Sezer approves Gul's reformist cabinet.

[06] The Turkish Parliament to vote for new speaker.

[07] JDP presents its defence to Constitutional Court.

[A] NEWS ITEMS

[01] It is not clear when Denktas will be discharged from the hospital

[02] Justice and Development Party's Bulent Arinc: "We will solve the Cyprus problem"

Question: It seems you have some political timidity as regards administration; however, your party stepped back regarding your initial statement on the Belgian model on Cyprus, following the briefing you were given at the Turkish foreign ministry. Why did you retract from the Belgian model statement?

Answer: No. We did not retract. I was also present at the meeting Tayyip Erdogan had with the Foreign Ministry and EU Foreign Ministry bureaucrats. They had briefed us on Iraq, Cyprus and the EU. Our General Chairman had asked: "Do my statements have anything wrong regarding our traditional foreign policy and the Cyprus policy?" And they in turn replied very sincerely: "No until today we have given plans inspired from Belgian and Swiss models. Your statements are in line with this. And this has given us a very good tramp card."

Question: But the Foreign Ministry Spokesman in his press briefing warned Tayyip Erdogan on the Belgian model?

Answer: In that case our new foreign minister had a lot of things to do. If a state's bureaucrat and a foreign ministry official are saying to the public just the opposite things that they had said us inside, then one of them is wrong.

Question: You are the government and the ruling power, Cyprus is one of the important issues of Turkey and you are obliged to solve it.

Answer: We shall solve it.

Question: In your party programme you have referred to Cyprus and there are points. Will you ask the Foreign Ministry to comply with these points, or will you comply with the Foreign Ministry's demands? Who will rule whom?

Answer: Our government will take a decision, and the bureaucrats will apply it. If there is a bureaucrat that says: "I do not carry out this", then it is up to him/her.

[03] Foreign "students" studying in the occupied areas will be used to inform their governments about the pseudostate

According to an announcement from the so-called Information Department of the pseudostate, under this project, the students will write letters to the their governments, the Foreign Ministries and the presidents of their states. The aim of this project is for these officials to be informed through the letters about the so-called "truth" in Cyprus, to understand and get to know the occupation regime. Under the project the students are encourage to publish their letters in papers of their countries, or write an article regarding the pseudostate.

[04] Revolutionary Trade Union (DEV-IS): Now or never for a solution of the Cyprus problem

[05] Sezer approves Gul's reformist cabinet

Gul said the president wanted to have some background regarding some ministers and biographies of the new ministers were faxed from the Justice and Development Party (JDP) headquarters and were presented to the president.

The new prime minister refused to comment further on the content of his discussions with the president.

As was announced by Gul earlier, the new cabinet list was much shorter than the outgoing cabinet. The new cabinet has only 24 seats compared to an average of around 35 seats in the recent past.

Gul announced that Abdullatif Sener, Ertugrul Yalcinbayir and Mehmet Ali Sahin have become deputy prime ministers, while Mehmet Aydin, Besir Atalay, Ali Babacan and Kursat Tuzmen are state ministers.

Tuzmen is anticipated to become the new minister in charge of the treasury. As was widely anticipated Yasar Yakis has become foreign minister while Vecdi Gonul, who was expecting to become new speaker of parliament but withdrew his candidacy for the post late Sunday in favour of Bulent Arinc, has become the new defense minister.

Veteran conservative politician Cemil Cicek has become the new justice minister while Ali Coskun, a former chairman of the Turkish Union of Chambers and one of the heavy guns of the JDP, has become the industry and trade minister.

Erkan Mumcu, who left the Motherland Party (MP) and joined the JDP before the elections has become the education minister.

Murat Basesgioglu, another prominent conservative politician, was posted to the labour ministry while the powerful finance ministry is now occupied by Kemal Unakitan.

Zeki Ergezen has become the public works minister while Recep Akdag is posted to health ministry, Binali Yildirim to agriculture and rural affairs ministry and Hilmi Guler to energy and natural resources ministry. Huseyin Celik has become the culture minister while the tourism portfolio went to Gurdal Aksit, forestry to Osman Pepe and environment to Imdat Sutluoglu.

Gul, chosen as premier designate on Saturday, is likely to lead the new government until party chief Recep Tayyip Erdogan is able to assume power. Erdogan is banned from government because of a past conviction for inciting religious hatred. He is expected to lead from behind the scenes until legislators can change the constitution to allow him to take power.

Vote of confidence next week

The program of the government is expected to be presented to Parliament today. If the program is read in today's session of Parliament, debate on the program could be held on Sunday and the new government could get a vote of confidence from the Parliament on Tuesday, two days after the completion of debates on the program.

Such a speedy procedure could enable Gul and his ministers to attend the National Security Council (NSC) meeting on November 29 as members of a government who had received the confidence of Parliament.

According to Article 110 of the Constitution, the program of the government must be read in Parliament within seven days after the president approves the list of Cabinet. In the current case the Gul cabinet has until November 26 to present its program to the Parliament. In that case, debates on the program would have been made on November 29 and Parliament would meet two full days after the program was read, on December 1, for a vote of confidence session.

At the vote of confidence session, a government needs to obtain support of at least 276 deputies, the absolute majority of the 550-seat Parliament. If the "No" votes exceed 276, that would mean the government failed to get a vote of confidence.

In the JDP government case, however, there appears to be no vote of confidence problem because the party has a clear 363-seat majority in the legislature, while the opposition Republican People's Party (RPP) has only 178 seats and nine seats are occupied by independents.

The list of the 58th Cabinet is as follows:

Prime Minister: Abdullah Gul , State Minister and Deputy Prime Minister: Abdullatif Sener ,State Minister and Deputy Prime Minister: Mehmet Ali Sahin, State Minister and Deputy Prime Minister: Ertugrul Yalcinbayir, State Minister: Mehmet Aydin, State Minister: Besir Atalay, State Minister: Ali Babacan, State Minister: Kursat Tuzmen, Justice Minister: Cemil Cicek, Defense Minister: Vecdi Gonul, Interior Minister: Abdulkadir Aksu, Foreign Minister: Yasar Yakis, Minister of Finance: Kemal Unakitan, Education Minister: Erkan Mumcu, Construction and Housing Minister: Zeki Ergezer, Health Minister: Recep Akdag, Transportation Minister: Binali Yildirim, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Affairs: Sami Guclu, Labour Minister: Murat Basesgioglu, Minister of Industry and Trade: Ali Coskun, Minister of Energy and Natural Resources: Hilmi Guler, Culture Minister: Huseyin Celik, Tourism Minister: Guldal Aksit, Minister of Forestry: Osman Pepe, Environment Minister: Imdat Sutluoglu.

[06] The Turkish Parliament to vote for new speaker

Arinc was presented as the JDP's sole candidate for the post and many deem Arinc's election as certain, given the JDP's overwhelming parliamentary majority.

JDP officials said their goal was to conclude the election for new speaker of Parliament in the first round. For this reason, JDP Chairman Recep Tayyip Erdogan will not take any deputy with him when he travels to Germany today. A second candidate for the post was Vecdi Gonul, who was also a candidate for prime minister before President Ahmet Necdet Sezer appointed Abdullah Gul over the weekend. Erdogan reportedly stepped in between a competition between Arinc and Gonul and convinced Gonul not to become a candidate. JDP's parliamentary group is also backing Arinc's candidacy.

Former deputy parliamentary group chairmen of JDP, Salih Kapusuz, Mehmet Ali Sahin and Huseyin Celik, presented a petition to the Parliament Speaker's Office Monday, stating that JDP presents Arinc as a candidate.

According to the Constitution, election for new Parliament speaker will start today and will be completed by November 24 at the latest. In the first two rounds, where voting will be secret, a candidate must obtain 367 votes to be elected as parliament speaker. In the third round, 276 votes will be enough. If no winner comes out as a result of the three rounds, a fourth round will be held and the candidate that gets the biggest number of votes will win.

But given the JDP has 363 seats in Parliament, it needs only four more votes to get Arinc elected in the first two rounds. Arinc will be the new parliament speaker if four of nine independent deputies are convinced to vote for Arinc in the first two rounds.

Opposition Republican People's Party (RPP) will also present a candidate but he has no chance to win.

Arinc: I will be elected in first round

Speaking to reporters in Parliament, Arinc said he was hopeful that he would get the support of two-thirds of the parliamentary majority necessary be elected in the first round.

Arinc denied reports that there was a crisis within JDP after he joined the race. "Mr Gonul is someone I treat with respect. As party members revealed they tend to support me, he called me and said he had withdrawn from the race. There is no crisis in our party on this issue," he said.

Arinc said he had wanted the parliamentary speaker post from the outset, rather than participating in the Cabinet. He claimed that his candidacy has created no tension in JDP and added that he would call all of the nine independent deputies asking for their support.

He said he had friends in RPP too and hoped to get their support as well. When asked to comment on newspaper comments that there could be troubles because of the fact that his wife wears a headscarf, Arinc said such comments amounted to an "assault on the privacy of his family."

Gonul regrets lost chance

Defeated candidate Gonul said he was sorry because he did not attempt to participate in the Cabinet.

"I have wanted to become parliament speaker for a while and everyone knew it. But I lost my chance to take part in the Cabinet after Mr Arinc announced he was going to be a candidate. When I was busy with efforts to get the parliament speaker post, Cabinet was created. There is nothing I can do now but accept what happened," he told reporters.

[07] JDP presents its defence to Constitutional Court

The party supports in its defence that Political Parties Law's Article 104 was against the Constitution. JDP claims that the injunction demand and the closure case against the party were not related to each other. The party says that the closure of the political parties is restricted with the latest Constitutional amendment.

The prosecutor had filed a petition for an injunction with the Court in order to bar Erdogan from the party's leadership because of a past conviction for Islamist sedition, which made him ineligible to become a deputy and prime minister. However, Erdogan remained party leader and spearheaded the party's campaign, declining to name a replacement.

At the beginning of November, the top court decided to examine the petition for an injunction after 15 days once the party presents its defence, which in turn provided time for the party to carry out its election campaign.

The top court will give Erdogan's dossier to reporters after JDP's defence. The Constitutional Court will then decide on the petition for injunction.

/SK

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